Guardian:

“Crud,” Scooter crossed his arms and looked over the screen. Guardian registered two Autobot vessels tailing them. “They’re gaining on us!”
“We can’t afford any delays,” Turbo turned and began to head towards the door. “Not now.” He opened a com-link with Spa-C. “Hey, can you buy us some time?”
Spa-C’s face appeared onscreen, broadcast from Guardian’s hangar.
“Absolutely. I’m better suited to hold them off, if you get my drift.”
“Be careful out there.” He placed a hand to his jaw, “Those guys’re rip roarin’ mad. Dance around an’ come back, no fancy stuff. We’re almost home.”
“Can do.”
Turbo looked back at the screen. Skylynx and Omega Supreme were getting closer, soon they would be within firing range.
SmallFoot entered the room, followed by Hans-Cuff.
“How’s Leader-1?”
“Repaired, but he’s in that room again, haven’t heard a peep from him.”
Hans-Cuff rubbed his shoulder, it was still aching from the battle. “Maybe we should let him know what’s going on, I mean, we’re getting really close to Gobotron.”
“Naw,” Turbo crossed his arms, frowning at the screen displaying the Autobot crafts, “He needs time alone. When he’s ready, he’ll let us know.”
Hans-Cuff sighed. “I just hope we’re ready when he does.”

****************
Skylynx:

“Optimus, I’m detecting two vessels exiting the Guardian transport, they’re heading this way. Two shuttles, one my size.” He checked his readings, “The other one is… much bigger.”
“They’re trying to throw us off.”
“Well their attempts are for naught.” Skylynx clicked on his weapon systems, powering them up to maximum. “ Preparing to engage!”
A transmission from Omega Supreme caught him by surprise, his voice thundered across his audio.
“This GoBot, extremely dangerous. Skylynx’s chances of defeating her, good. ”
Omega initiated his transformation, “My chances: better. ”
Hot Rod nudged Springer. “Did Omega say ‘her’?”
Springer smirked, “Sounds like someone’s found a special someone eh?”
“Sarcasm, unappreciated. ”
_________________

Spa-C ignited her thrusters and propelled herself towards the Autobots. Her Super-GoBot craft had been fixed by Sentry’s onboard maintenance-bots, she hoped it would be enough to do what needed to be done. Her scanners ran at top speed, constantly searching for any smaller crafts they might have placed around the larger ones. She would not be caught off guard. She knew the risk she was taking confronting the Transformers by herself, but if it meant helping Leader-1 complete his plan, whatever it was, she was more than happy to help.
She caught sight of Omega Supreme, he looked strange as just a rocket, a large blossom of fire propelling him forward. She instead focused on the second craft, a shuttle like herself. She took aim, and fired.
__________________

“Evasive action!” Skylynx swung to his left, narrowly avoiding Spa-C’s barrage. She fired again, clipping his wing as he returned fire in kind. The shots raced past her and disappeared into space. Skylynx cursed, he hated missing, but her design was allowing her greater maneuverability, and he was carrying passengers to boot. He growled, and made to charge her when Omega Supreme rushed overhead, casting a dark shadow over him as he passed and made his way towards Spa-C. She halted her assault on Skylynx and turned her guns on him, increasing their intensity and focusing on Omega’s visor.

Omega glared at Spa-C, who immediately reversed direction, backing into the larger space shuttle following her. The ship shifted and changed modes, the new body allowing Spa-C to alter her body again and connect to the empty section waiting to be filled. She snapped into place, a new head rose and stared defiantly at Omega.

“Grimlock!” Prime stepped into the gathering of Autobots, who continued their rallying chant as the Dinobot moved towards Prime.
“I want you to help Omega Supreme, take the Dinobots and-”
“No need Prime. Me Grimlock plenty.”
“I’d rather you-”
“Trust me.” Grimlock glanced at the Dinobots, who were roaring with the other Autobots. Prime considered it, they would need the Dinobots as their big guns once Gobotron was reached. If they were all delayed in this fight, the Autobots would be worse off. He nodded.
“Alright, but at the first sign of trouble, if you get in over your head you come right back here.”
“Me Grimlock live to get in over head.” He turned and headed for the hanger.
__________________

Spa-C and Omega Supreme unleashed clustered hails of fire upon one another, clouding the immediate area in space with silent explosions. Spa-C raised her hands, firing off twin beams of energy that cut through the dissipating explosions and slammed into Omega’s chest as he rushed forward. She didn’t have time to dodge, he plowed into her and carried her back into space. He felt her fists hammering against his shoulder and winced, remembering the brutal shots he had taken from both Guardian and Sentry on Earth. He reversed his thrust and swung his clawed hand, catching her against the side of the head and sent her flying backwards again. She recovered and charged, dodging his second swing and brought a tight fist against his arm. Omega winced, looking up in time to see her spinning her leg up and cracking it against his visor. The shock hurt, the second kick hurt more. He spun his head around and fired, the blast cut through the darkness of space and missed Spa-C. He growled, she was a lot more maneuverable when she wasn’t land-bound. A blast of energy from her hands smashed against his visor, the flash blinding him momentarily. He felt another shot connect with his elbow, then his knee. She was trying to pick him apart, he forced himself to focus, bracing for the next blast-and there was nothing. He glanced up and saw Spa-C no longer focused on him, she thrashed about, her hands reaching towards her neck and grasping feverishly. Omega watched, confused as she seemed to catch hold of something and with an effort, yanked it away from her. He zoomed in and saw Grimlock gripped in her hands, a large strip of white metal stuck in his mouth. His eyes moved along Spa-C’s body and came to rest on her neck, it was sparking and damaged from Grimlock’s assault. He normalized his vision and moved to race forward when she drew her hands back and slung Grimlock at him. The Dinobot smacked into Omega’s chest, mouth open in a silent roar as Omega clasped him in his claw.
“Assistance, unneeded. ”
“Too bad, you get help anyway!”
Spa-C fired dual blasts at Omega, he managed to back out of the way as they passed, then fired his arm cannon, striking her in the chest. She clasped the wound and felt a stabbing pain in her hand. Grimlock knelt on the flat expanse of metal, his sword driven in to the hilt and crackling wildly with energy. She winced and swatted at him, but missed. Grimlock flew back as Omega landed the round section of his cannon on Spa-C’s back. She tumbled forward, trying to stabilize herself before he attacked again. She had lost track of the Command Centers as well as Skylynx, but she was deterring Omega, and that was the whole point. She shook her head. Unfortunately, deterring Omega also meant incurring his wrath, and she was tiring.
Omega and Grimlock moved in, prepared to put the Guardian down, when Omega’s sensors went wild, alarms buzzed in his head, a proximity alert flashed across his visor.
“Inside, Now! ” he grabbed Grimlock and shoved him into a side port on his body, ignoring the Dinobot’s indignant protests. He whipped his head around, trying to figure out what caused his online alarms to trigger. The space behind him shifted and faltered, the blackness receded, and the Renegade transport, Smasher raised both fists above his head, then brought them down as Omega turned-too late.
Like an earthquake in midair, Omega’s body screamed in agony, racked with pain from the deafening impact. He hurtled through space, his mind blanked out, then jumped back online.
Smasher watched the Autobot tumble through space, then whipped his eyes towards Spa-C. She stared back, horrified by the violence of the Renegade’s assault. Smasher fought the urge to crush the Guardian, he didn’t realize how much he disliked them on every possible level. The urge passed, if only because the freshest thing in his mind was the Guardian Robots he fought in DarkOre City, the one he had attacked looked just like them. Now was a good time to unload the anger he felt towards the dinosaur Decepticon Trypticon, who had the nerve to call him a coward as the Renegades pulled away from Cybertron. His anger flared, as did the lights in his eyes as he turned away from Spa-C and pursued Omega Supreme. He was confident he would have a chance to deal with the Guardians later, right now he just wanted to smash the largest thing available. Omega Supreme would do nicely.
_________________

Spa-C moved to pursue when she heard Turbo in her ear.
“Spa-C, mission accomplished, get back here!”
She looked after Omega, struggling with the much larger Thruster. “But, but that Thruster will kill him!”
“That guy held his own against Sentry and Guardian, I think he’ll be fine.”
Spa-c hesitated, debating, then changed directions and rocketed after the Command Centers.
_________________

“Omega!” Prime stared at Skylynx’s monitor, the Renegade transport appeared out of nowhere, interrupting Omega’s battle with the Guardian shuttle. It was titanic, its head a glowing crimson that radiated light, its yellowish eyes blazing with malice. Prime knew Omega was still recovering from trying to hold off both Guardian and Sentry, this new machine looked meaner than both.
“Should I assist Prime?” Skylynx decreased his speed, prepared to make a change in course. The Guardians needed to be followed, but if they lost Omega… Prime hesitated, he couldn’t just leave.
“Hurt, not injured.” Omega’s voice thundered across the room, “Gobotron, primary mission. Time spent debating-wasted!”
Prime saw the tremendous machines tumble through space, then sighed, standing straight. “Skylynx, resume pursuit of the Guardians, increase speed. The sooner we take them down the sooner we can return.”

****************
Decepticon Warship:

“All power to main cannons, aim for her-Aggg!” Starscream fell again, tumbling over the railing and hitting the floor as Thruster twisted the massive battleship in her hands. It fired continuously, the shots finding their marks and blowing away small bits of her armor, but it was taking more damage than it was able to give. Thruster strained, hands gripping both ends of the vessel and pushing. It creaked, then bent in the middle from the incredible force the transport expended. Cannons nestled within the ship’s side began to overhead and explode, some shot off by Thruster’s own weapons returning fire. Smoke blasted from the vents as various engines across the ship began to overheat.
Soundwave tried to adjust the controls, rerouting the ship’s power away from the less vital areas, hoping it would minimize potential damage. Cyclonus dodged a falling plank and neared him.
“Contact Shockwave, we need reinforcements!
“Negative, unable to establish contact.”
Few of the screens still displayed images, most of them had clouded over and cracked. They were nearing a small planet, pale white with brown, jagged cliffs that looked like teeth. The ground looked uneven, doubtlessly caused by countless collisions with space debris. Thruster raised the battleship over her head, remembering her encounter with Galvatron’s vessel, and hurled it at the rocky planet.

****************
???????????????:

Zeemon flew through the darkness clouding his own mind. He didn’t know how he was navigating, but he didn’t question it. He knew exactly where Unicron had gone, and cursed himself for giving the mad titan exactly what he wanted. That was why he hadn’t just destroyed Zeemon’s incarnation of will, he needed him to give him the one bit of information he wouldn’t have been able to discover on his own. Zeemon had various fragmented portions of memory, he purposely broke them down to prevent himself from being tempted to use the vast stores of energy within himself. He had a system in place, if he acquired power, he automatically accessed a variety of dormant cells within his body, selected the one containing the least amount of power, and deposited his latest acquisition there. As soon as the process was complete, his mind scattered the memory of doing so, rearranging the data at random. The memory was still there, the files were still there, but inaccessible unless the moment after acquiring the power was accessed. New Earth had been the last time he came into so much at once, and was the freshest in his mind. That recollection, once seen by Zeemon himself, allowed Unicron to see exactly where his energy deposits were.
Unicron now had access to every drop of power within Zeemon.
He raced through the darkness, a dot of red came into view.
“Unicron.” He growled, doubled his speed and saw the dot increase in size in a comical manner until Unicron became a clear image against the blackness. He stood before a glistening wall, a series of rectangular cells began to light up one after another, flickering into brilliant flashes of swirling energy. There were dozens, then expanded into hundreds. Unicron laughed.
“So glad you could join me. With this energy at my disposal, I may not even need to drain your planet.”
“No!” Zeemon felt himself become a blur, streaking past Unicron and colliding with the center cell. It splashed like liquid, and Unicron roared in surprise as the cell burst with power, the collection of quantumite energy blasting into his torso and driving him back. He thrust his hands forward, each one splashing into two opposite cells and pulling energies from sources he neither knew of nor cared about. Power, was power, and now he was receiving more than he had during his entire time lodged within Gobotropolis.
“Yes.” He whispered, the rush of energy a delicious ripple across his circuits. He would have it, he would have it all-
A huge, clawed fist swung from the center cell of power and collided with Unicron’s face, sending him off his feet and flying into the darkness. A tremendous foot stepped from the cell, impossibly large, followed by an arm that reached forward, its dual fingered hand extended.
Zeemon pulled himself free of the cell and landed, a white aura of energy cascaded across his body. He stood as tall as Unicron, his visor locked onto the giant as he burst through the darkness and flew directly towards him. Zeemon could feel the frightening rage behind Unicron’s mask. He was the only thing standing between him and an endless well of power.

**************
Thruster:

“Renegades!” Blane stood on Thruster’s shoulder, his voice booming from her speakers, “Knock em down, an’ wipe em out!!”
He saw the Decepticons emerging from the destroyed craft, weapons drawn, already firing on the Renegades. He searched through the ranks, eyes focused.
“Come out and play Galvy! You wanna die so bad-”
A pink explosion erupted next to him, Blane cast an eye skyward and saw Starscream cutting through the air, weapons ablaze as he tried to shoot Blane from his perch.
“Galvatron couldn’t make it, you loudmouthed imbecile! You’ll have to make do with me!”
Blane’s smile faded, eyes narrow. “Yer kiddin’ me, right?”
____________________

Omega Supreme clamped his claw around Smasher’s fist, trying desperately to crush it. It would be one less thing for him to have to worry about. Smasher wrenched his hand free, cracking his other hand against Omega’s back in a fist and sending him spinning through space. He recovered, redirected himself, and rushed forward, firing his cannon arm and spinning his head around. The first shot punched a small hole into Smasher’s torso, a pillar of smoke drifted out. The second shot missed, and as Omega spun his head back around, Smasher filled his vision with a hard right hand that sent him spiraling in a downward arc towards a small planet. Smasher could see Thruster standing on the rock and sand covered sphere, a battle raging around her.
____________________

Thuster saw Omega Supreme fall from the sky and explode into a cliff. It shattered like glass, collapsing as the titan smashed through two smaller cliffs before coming to a halt. Large piles of rock accumulated around him and he strained, trying to gather the strength to stand. He could make out Decepticons fighting the other robots, and caught sight of Thruster, who had just taken notice of him. His eyes went skyward, and he saw Smasher dropping down on him an instant before impact.
____________________

Grimlock gripped the bottom of the locked panel within Omega Supreme and growled, straining his arm hydraulics until it was thrown open. A battle tore across the rocky plains before him, Decepticons and Renegades everywhere. For a moment Grimlock wished the Renegades and Decepticons had joined forces, then he could simply tear into every bot he saw. As it was, his eyes locked onto the Renegades. He crouched, about to leap when Smasher landed on Omega Supreme, and Grimlock was thrown with the force of a rocket. He collided with the edge of a overhang, plowed through, and smashed into the side of a wall, shattering it and collapsing to the ground.
Moments later, he felt his vision swirling back into focus, a splatter of green and purple washed across his sight.
“Rrr…” he grumbled. He could tell he was on his back, but felt something on his chest, something that barely registered as weight. He shook his head, clearing his cerebral circuits. When he opened his optics, his growl stopped short.
Vamp sat on Grimlock’s chest, her legs dangled over his shoulders, her lean body bent forward in a curve that allowed her to look directly into his face. She was tracing the circuitry on his chest when he awoke.
“Sleep well?” she purred, tilting her head and leaning forward.
Grimlock regarded her, eyes scrunched in confusion. “You are?”
She hissed a quick laugh, “I ‘are’ Vamp. We met on Earth.”
Grimlock’s head felt strange, the longer he stared at the Renegade female, the more of a buzz he felt in his central processors. It would have been pleasant, had he not been so ready to fight anyone and anything. Her eyes were purple-Decepticon colors, and the longer he stared at them, the worse the buzz in his head became.
“Get off Grimlock!” He snarled, and moved to sit up. He couldn’t. His arms felt lodged, he whipped his head around and saw large piles of rock had been laid atop his arms and legs, melted together at the seams by what he assumed was an acidic binder. He growled and felt a sharp pain in his shoulder.
“What you doing?!” With some effort he turned his head to the side and saw a tangle of clipped, sparking wires poking from his right shoulder connection. Vamp plucked absently at the connections with an elongated claw, its razor edge cutting cleanly into the cables, one after another.
“You’re not like the others, are you? I saw it when you first arrived. Even your own people fear you. Fear your power.” She laughed lightly, the sound sent chills through Grimlock’s head, stoking his anger, “But not me, I find the ability to put the fear of a higher being into others rather… endearing.”
An explosion rocked the landscape, they could hear the battle cries rebounding across the jagged mountain range. She tilted her head, listening with a thin smile, then looked back down at Grimlock. “It’s a beautiful sound isn’t it? The symphony of war. You and I, we know it well, don’t we?” She pulled her legs back, laying flat against Grimlock, her face inches from his mask.
“They will never admit it to you Grimlock, but you are the dominant force amongst your people. A king. And I,” he nodded towards the battle, mushroom clouds erupted along the landscape, “am the Renegade Queen. They all know this, but like your people, none is brave enough to utter the words aloud. How appropriate is it that we find each other like this. Worlds apart, but now,” the tip of her face touched his mask, sending a jolt through Grimlock’s pump, his eyes narrowed and flashed from blue to red, “you and I can be together. You will be my King.” Her eyes began to glow, a thin purple haze ran along Grimlock’s face.
“Me ram sword down miserable throat!” Grimlock snarled, straining against the rock, feeling them start to give slightly. Vamp smiled and shifted onto her back, she reached an arm up and slid a finger along Grimlock’s face.
“Sounds delightful, but not on our first date.”
Her free hand moved back to his shoulder and continued to pick at it, she was almost halfway through the thickly twined connection.
“You will please me Grimlock. Oh yes, you will please me greatly.”
“RAHH!” Grimlock’s left arm burst free of the rock and latched onto Vamp’s throat as he ripped his legs free of their holdings. He stood and yanked his right arm, wincing at the sudden crackle coming from his shoulder connection. It was still trapped. He heard the loud shriek of metal sliding against metal and felt a white-hot pain lance across his arm. He roared and saw Vamp’s curved, extended claws buried in his forearm, they slid through the metal and grew from the opposite side. “Still some fight in you, I like that.”
He reared back, prepared to slam the Renegade into the stone pile when a large, wide disc-like shape plowed into him, ripping Grimlock’s trapped arm free of the rocks and lifting him into the air. Vamp dropped and landed on her feet.
Bladez’s snarl filled Grimlock’s audio as they collided with a nearby pillar of stone and collapsed it. Grimlock hit the ground hard and immediately got to his feet, eyes locked on Bladez as he shifted modes and landed. He was only a head shorter than Grimlock, but thickly built like Roadbuster.
“Good!” Grimlock growled and clenched his fists as Bladez launched himself at him. “Me Grimlock come to fight, not make kissyface!”

**************
Guardian:

Leader-1 exited his private quarters, the matrix held fast in his right hand. He entered Guardian’s main control room and accepted the looks of his crew. To say they were uneasy would be an understatement. Turbo and SmallFoot stood at the bridge, Scooter and Hans-Cuff monitored their progress. Gobotron was plainly visible now, Unicron’s ring jutting from its center core, two golden horns resting on its upper half. It was an abomination.
“How are you holding up Turbo.”
“Scared t’death Leader-1.” He grumbled, crossing his arms. “And I gotta admit, as much as I trust ya and all,” Turbo looked ill, like he was trying to force himself to puke, “You gotta tell us. What’s going on? Not that we ain’t with ya! To the end, but…” he couldn’t finish, guilt contorted his features. Leader-1 reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you Turbo, you’ve been the truest of friends throughout this whole ordeal. You’re right, I do owe all of you an explanation, but… I just don’t want any of you to get hurt.”
“It’s Unicron, isn’t it?”
Leader-1’s head snapped toward Hans-Cuff. He’d left his seat and stood before Leader-1. Everyone’s eyes were on them, intent, curious as he continued.
“You can’t tell us everything because of Unicron, you think he’ll hurt us.”
Leader-1’s eyes dropped, his brow furrowed, “There’s a reason none of you have heard him speak to you…” he hesitated, SmallFoot placed a hand on his arm.
“Hey, if he’s made you do this by threatening us, I say-” Leader-1 held a hand to quiet her.
“SmallFoot please, too much has been said already, I can’t chance any of you suffering because of-AUGH!”
The matrix flared to life, a brilliant blue flash filled the room, and Leader-1 felt himself fade into the blinding glare.

**************

Galvatron sat in silence, submerged in the lava pool, his mind clear as the area around him. Nothing moved, the lava had settled. He thought about the battle with Blane, the war with the Autobots and that fateful encounter with the Matrix. What was he supposed to do? There was nothing inside him anymore, he had been merely a drone for years. A bright flash of blue filled his vision unexpectedly, causing him to cry out, then gnash his teeth. He was sick of being this pitiful excuse of a transformer. He hated himself, but admitted the truth; Motormaster was right.

Galvatron’s mind jumped to his original creation by Unicron, chosen because of his resilience, and though Galvatron knew Unicron could never see it, feared him because of his ambition. Why else would the dark god have been so quick to punish him for his betrayal? Why else would he have been the one selected to destroy the Autobot matrix? Because he was strong, he was powerful. He was, not, this! He had become weak, he was just another bot. And he had known this, yet allowed himself to remain that way. Why? Galvatron admitted it, finally. He had grown content, the matrix’s influence over his mind repressed his most basic desire for destruction. After the war ended, what else had there been to concern himself with, what was there to do? A life of mediocrity consumed him, and when Starscream threatened to end that plain and simple existence, he didn’t destroy the rebel, he simply made it impossible for Starscream to do it again.
He had forgotten himself, or rather, the matrix had made him forget himself. But now he remembered. Who was he?
“I…am Galvatron…” he muttered beneath the lava. His mind bucked the thoughts he was trying to force on it, safeguards the matrix itself had intricately set in place began to fizzle and spark, they had already been strained during Galvatron’s battles with Blane.
“I…am…Galvatron…” he growled, the lava around him began to bubble, sparks burned at the sides of his helmet, his mind fought with every ounce of his being against the internal safeguards that wretched matrix had placed within his mind.

**************
Guardian:

Leader-1 stared into the matrix, still uncertain as what he should say-if anything.
“I…” he stopped, feeling stupid for talking to something that most likely, was not alive. “I just want my planet to live… I just want them to survive. Don’t let what I’ve done doom two worlds.”
There was a flash, and Leader-1 felt a terrible rage rise up from the matrix. He felt as if he had been pulled into the object itself, his mind being gripped by something, or someone intangible. Lost in the blue haze, he saw something writhing about the glittering energy, dark indigo, its eyes flaming red coals of fury. It swirled about a small enclosure, locked within an impossible network of bonds that shook violently. No sooner had Leader-1 whispered his words, the bonds cracked, then shattered with the sound of crystal breaking. Leader-1’s eyes went wide as a horrifying serpentine beast flashed past him, spreading its dark wings in a swirling cloud of primitive hatred. It roared, the sound deep and guttural, carrying an almost sentient sound at its core. It few past him with a whoosh, sending Leader-1 hurtling into a blue void.

**************

Galvatron’s mind went black, a brilliant blue star shone in his mind, he saw it clearly, a sphere-like prison, caging something he sought from the start of this whole sordid affair. It exploded with a feral scream, the spikes of blue energy unleashing a horrifying beast that brought a twisted smile to Galvatron’s face. It howled and unfurled its demonic wings, eyes brilliant, burning embers of rage. It looked at him, purple fire erupting in wild plumes from its mouth and nose. The surface of the lava pool bubbled, large spheres bursting in hot spatters.
“I…”
The surface increased its boiling, intensifying and spilling onto the ground beside its mouth. The ground nearby trembled.
“AM…”
The ground shook violently and cracked, rising towards the sky like a new mountain. Orange and red lava frothed at the top, spilling down its side like rivulets of blood. A circle of white light shone a second before a wide blast of plasma energy exploded skyward. The column of power continued growing larger and destroying the immediate area, burning cruelly into the planet. In the center of the beam was a dark figure, eyes blaring red, arms raised above his head, mouth wide as he screamed,
“GALVATRON!!!”
He burst from the eruption and saw smaller volcanoes birthing through the surface, a chain reaction fueled by his own outrage. The land continued to crack and shift, slowly collapsing in on itself and belching up flames that lashed towards the sky, as if the planet was trying to pull Galvatron back into its depths. Galvatron’s eyes burned with a glaring red malice. He regarded the world with a distasteful grimace, his own internal hatred matching its fury. It came from a single thought.
“Blane.” He sneered, clenching his teeth, then, “BLANE!!! GRAAAA!! ”
His cannon ignited, firing a wide blast that launched him into space faster than he remembered traveling in years.

**************

Grimlock ran towards Bladez and rocked a curled fist off the mutant’s eye, eliciting an angry growl from creature. He regained his footing and blocked Grimlock’s next strike with his curved, spiked wing, then slashed it upward and sparked it off Grimlock’s chest.
“She’s MINE!” He snarled, lunging at Grimlock and wrapping a pair of curved claws around his throat, Grimlock could feel the metal digging into his own as he tried to decapitate his foe.
“Me not want her!” Grimlock swung a right hand and winced as his shoulder screamed in protest. The shot was enough to send a splintering crack across Blade’s chest, he let go and stumbled back, then launched himself again. Grimlock reared back, and felt a burning sting in the back of his knee. He growled as Bladez smashed into him, sending Grimlock toppling over Scorp, whose stinger was still lodge in Grimlock’s leg. He caught Grimlock’s left arm in his pincers and pulled his tail free, angling a new strike at Grimlock’s face. The tip if the deadly weapon glistened, then darted forward. Grimlock yanked his arm free and rolled as it exploded into the ground beside him, then grabbed it with both hands and hauled Scorp off his feet, through the air over his head, and smashed him against a large, pointed rock jutting out of the ground. Red fluid sprayed from Scorp as he screamed and splashed against Grimlock, who yanked hard and tore Scorp’s tail free of his body. An explosion went off to his side, and he saw Pincher spinning through the air, weapons tearing up the ground beside him as he angled his descent towards the dinobot. Grimlock ran towards him and was knocked off his feet as Klaws slammed into him from the side, his protective red shell delivering a painful impact. He changed modes as Pincher swooped overhead and reverted to robot form, raising his taloned feet and dropping down on Grimlock. He would give his eyes to Vamp as a present. Klaws moved to follow when he heard a piercing shriek rip from Pincher, who was hunched over Grimlock, but something long and pointed jutted from his back. Grimlock rose, Scorp’s tail in his hand, he grabbed the back of Pincher’s head and rammed the spiked tail the rest of the way through his back, then tossed Pincher aside. Klaws roared and flew forward, firing bursts of energy from his clawed hands. Grimlock saw him approach and transformed into his T-Rex form, opening his jaws as Klaws realized the danger and reverted to his clam-like shuttle mode. Grimlock caught him in his incredible jaws, his teeth bit down and dug into Klaws shielding. The Renegade Mutant screamed as his shell cracked inward, and Grimlock’s teeth bit down into his body with an unforgiving crunch.
A sudden burst of glowing, sticky lines wrapped themselves around Grimlock’s mouth, then flattened into a glistening sheen that stretched stubbornly when he tried to open his jaws. Klaws still remained lodged in his maw, and he whipped his head back and forth trying to shake the odd substance loose. Hornet buzzed from the sky, firing another strand of the sticky substance in Grimlock’s left eye, clouding over the spot until he was satisfied. Grimlock tried to roar in anger but found the task impossible. He moved to stomp forward and roared again, this time in pain. The same shoulder joint Vamp had been slicing doubled as his hip in dino mode, the damaged area sparked angrily and sent waves of pain through his side when he put any significant weight on it. Klaws still remained lodged in his jaws, he tried to turn and glance about the battlefield with his good eye when a large, orange ball of energy exploded against his injured hip. He grumbled angrily and swiveled his head, catching a glimpse of a stocky, orange tank rolling up. Strangely organic in design, two large, blue eyes rested near the front. Dual cannons sat atop the rolling monstrosity, glowing and firing again as it neared. Bugsy delighted in Grimlock’s pain, firing again at the beast’s hip. He hoped to impress Vamp by downing this lumbering creature, then she would beg him to please her-
Grimlock strained his mouth hydraulics as Hornet swung down for another pass. He fired another strand of glowing string and missed as Grimlock hunched down on his legs, then sprang up as Hornet came in low, swinging his tail and smashing it against Hornet’s front end. He crashed to the ground, the front half of his body horribly crumpled and pouring smoke.
______________________

Skyjack flew from Thruster and fired on Starscream, missing the Decepticon and falling in line behind him. Starscream laughed and spun, then changed direction and angled his shots at Skyjack’s rear engines. He shouted in pain, his engines catching fire as he changed modes and fell, trying to reignite his thrusters. Starscream turned his attention back to Blane-and saw he was gone. He heard the rough growl of a motor and caught sight of him in motorcycle form, rocketing towards him. He must have launched himself from Thruster while he was busy with Skyjack. Blane changed modes and slammed both fists against Starscream’s canopy, shattering the glass above the cockpit.
“AAAA!” Starscream twirled, trying to throw the bulky Renegade who clung to his wings, refusing to be bucked.
“Get off and fight like a Decepticon!”
Blane said nothing, he raised a tight, glowing fist and drove it into Starscream’s back. A loud sizzling sounded as it melted through his metal and threatened to reach into his internal systems.
“I ever tell you how much I hate planes?” Blane dug his fist further into Starscream’s back. He couldn’t take it anymore, he banked to his left and transformed, managing to pull free of Blane and tumble to the ground. Blane landed hard on his feet, cracking the ground beneath him, then stood. He raised a hand and fired, the shot ripped through Starscram’s shoulder as he tried to stand, his mounted cannon exploding in a violent pink cloud. He screamed and grasped at the damage, backing away from Blane and searching the area for help. He clenched his teeth, forcing his free arm to lift, intending to fire. Blane rushed forward, swatting Starscream’s arm aside with such force it spun him around. Completing the spin, Blane grabbed Starscream by the throat and slammed him against a rock wall. His fist flew forward, colliding with Starscream’s face and cracking the metal. Small chips fell away from the point of impact as Starscream’s head lolled forward and received another thunderous shot from Blane. His head drooped forward, his right eye a shattered indentation, his mouth crooked. A wheeze of air drifted from him. Blane smashed him with another punch, “Ya got guts. Not much in th’ brains department, but let’s see fer ourselves, eh?” He held Starscream’s face with one hand, raised a glowing finger of the other, and prepared to burn it into Starscream’s forehead.
There was a thunder, something that sounded more like a cosmic distortion above him. Blane swiveled his head around and saw a dark swirl in the sky, a bright, white flash, and a harsh, terrible sound scream into the atmosphere.
“GRAAAAA!!”
Blane looked up. “The scud?”
A pillar of energy tore from the sky and exploded into a cluster of Renegades. They flew in every direction, some now devoid of limbs, screaming as they were slung through the air by the devastating force of the explosion. A large chasm was left behind, on its edge stood a familiar shape. Galvatron’s eyes were thrumming red, his purple metal a darker shade than before, rich with color. His cannon stood out, a deep orange hue against the charcoal smoke billowing from the hole in the small planet. He took a step forward, his foot hissing when it touched the rock, melting it as he walked. Blane’s eyes went wide, a hopeful grin played on his face.
Slicks shifted modes and spun his wheels, racing towards Galvatron. He neared, shifted into his robot form and lunged at him. He was barely airborne before Galvatron rose his cannon and fired, the blast incinerated Slicks with a horrifying scream and exploded through a nearby mountain. Galvatron’s eyes locked onto Blane, who opened his hand and let Starscream collapse.
“Blane!” Crasher’s voice cracked over his comm.-link “Galvatron’s here, he just took out-”
“I know.” Blane said, “Looks like he finally found it, and brought it.”
________________

Grimlock landed hard and bit down on Klaws to keep from screaming. His right leg shook terribly, and he almost collapsed. He swiped at the gunk in his eye with his foreclaw, annoyed that it was too short to reach. Another blast from Bugsy burst against him, he grimaced. He was starting to hate that bug. He turned towards the rolling tank and took one step when Bladez collided with him again. His flying form whizzed past, spikes extended, and slashed Grimlock across his chest. Grimlock growled, then forced himself to transform into robot form. His T-Rex head hung on his back, Klaws still gripped in its mouth and throwing off his balance with the added weight. But at least now he could see. He glanced towards Bugsy and saw Vamp sitting on a rock behind him. She sat with her legs crossed, back arched as she leaned back on her claws, her eyes watching the fight intently. Grimlock growled, she was the cause of this… He needed to look for Bladez, but couldn’t pull his eyes away from Vamp’s. They were flickering, pulsing a deep purple, and he felt that aggravating buzz begin to crawl across his head again. What was she doing, or trying to do to him? He concentrated, and found it almost impossible to look away. He twisted his neck with a painful effort, tore his gaze away from her, tuned around and received a blast of energy in his eyes. He yelled, staggered back, and almost fell because of Klaws. Bladez slammed into him, changing modes quickly and buried his talons into Klaws. He yanked him free of Grimlock’s mouth and held the mutant with both hands, then swung him in a vicious arc, smashing him against Grimlock’s head. Klaws was hurt, screaming in protest, but could not shift modes, Bladez grip was too strong for him to break free.. He brought Klaws up over his head and bashed Grimlock’s skull with him again. Bugsy continued his assault, firing on Grimlock as Bladez drew Klaws back one more time, and swung with all his might. Grimlock caught a final glimpse of Klaws’ red shell, then a painful burst of white pain. The landscape looked like it was melting, blackness oozing over his field of vision. Grimlock’s eyes went bright red, then faded black as he sank to his knees and fell face first to the ground.
Bladez threw Klaws to the rocky dirt and raised his taloned hands skyward, unleashing a triumphant screech. In the same motion he extended the spikes along his wing, raised them as well, and swung them down towards Grimlock, relishing the moment they would slice through his head and decapitate him.
He stopped short, his wingspike barely a millimeter from Vamp’s face. He halted and stared down at her, confused. She placed a claw on the wingspike, running her own talon along its length, then smiled at Bladez.
“Good work Bladez, you have done very, very well. Now,” she pointed at Grimlock, “Carry him. Your queen wishes to return home with her King.” Bladez didn’t move, staring at her, incredulous. She tilted her head, eyes narrowing slightly. Slowly, he changed modes and began to hover, dropping a series of cables that attached to Grimlock, lifting him into the air.
“The rest of you, retrieve the wounded and follow. Gobotron is close enough, we no longer need to travel in the company of lesser Renegades.” She crawled atop Bladez and stretched out on his back as he rose into the air, leaving the atmosphere, and took off for Gobotron.
_______________________

Blane and Galvatron stared at each other. Galvatron’s cannon still smoked, energy rippling from its mouth. Blane’s hands radiated energy, he curled them without thinking.
"You really want this huh? I beat yer can on Earth, and I fracked you up somethin’ fierce on Cybertron."
He beckoned to Galvatron, fingers lighting up with energy as he did so, "You want a piece, come get it."
Galvatron’s eyes went wide, too wide. “A piece?” he bellowed, “I want it ALLL!”
He raised his cannon and fired, the girth of the blast impossibly wide, slamming into Blane and hurling him off his feet and into the air. The beam of energy tore through two mountains, leaving wide, glowing rings in them before Blane fell out of the beam and sailed towards another mountain.
His eyes were wide in disbelieve, his body shaking in pain. Incredibly, there was a smile on his face, his eyes wide with animalistic pleasure as he hit the ground in a blackened cloud of smoke. He stood a moment later, yellow light shining blazing from his body, illuminating the rocky landscape around him as his self repair launched into overdrive, the power conductors in his body igniting. He grimaced, if he could repair this fast, that meant Galvatron could too. He looked up and saw Galvatron cutting through the smoke above, an enraged howl screaming from him as he dropped through the air, intent on landing directly on Blane’s face.
“YEAH!” Blane screamed, his smile almost splitting his face, his eyes huge, angry saucers, “That’s what I’m TALKIN about!!” He raised his hands and fired a combined blast that mushroomed out and skyward, catching Galvatron in the center. The land around Blane began to overhead, boulders and pillars of stone exploding from the sudden output of energy. A wide circumference of destroyed land surrounded Blane when he completed his blast, a reverse funnel torn from the ground.
___________________

Blane and Galvatron collided in the sky, the sound of a thunderous boom tore through the air and shook the land below. They fired, large spheres of energy erupted from the respective leaders and slammed into each other, resulting in a brilliant burst that sent shockwaves across the planet’s mountain ranges. They trembled and cracked.
Galvatron screamed, raced forward and smashed his fist into Blane’s face. The Renegade recoiled, swinging his own fist into Galvatron’s back and sent him smashing into the ground below. Blane rocketed through the air and towards Galvatron, his eyes leaking plumes of yellow energy, a wild sneer on his lips. Galvatron saw him coming and aimed his cannon, firing a blast that destroyed the mountain he stood on, collapsing it in an explosive cloud of purple and yellow smoke. Blane hit the ground, it cracked beneath him as he stood and fired at Galvatron. The energy launched forward with a garbled scream and narrowly missed Galvatron as he flew out of the way, watching it careen off into the distance and balloon into a brilliant half-sphere of destruction. He turned his head towards Blane, grinned, and charged.
_____________________

Cyclonus spun through the air, dodging a volley of laser fire from Snoop. He saw her veer off course and increase speed, retreating towards Thruster, and wondered why. A concussive wave of force slammed into him a moment later, sending him spinning out of control, unable to regain balance. He transformed and managed to ignite his foot thrusters, then looked about, a bright explosion made him put up a hand to block the glare. Then he heard it.
“BWAHAHAHA!”
His eyes went wide, “Galvatron?”
Another purple and black explosion burst against the rocky crags of the little planet, and Cyclonus caught a glimpse of Galvatron’s unmistakable form slicing through the smoke, followed by Blane. The two exchanged blows, Galvatron smashing a fist into Blane’s face while the Renegade replied with a closed fist of his own to Galvatron’s jaw. It was as if neither of them felt any pain. Cyclonus watched them fire on each other with reckless abandon, heedless of the high level of damage they were doing to the land around them. They were collapsing ancient formations and carving canyons just to better their chances of striking one another.
“No good can come of this.”
He raised his wrist, opening contact with Soundwave.
“Soundwave, Galvatron has returned!”
“I have noticed.” Soundwave hung from the edge of a cliff, a rolling pillar of flame rising from the crack in the planet. He hoisted himself back over the edge and fired on Dart as he raced by. He took cover as Monstrous and Abominus smashed into the ground beside him, driving each other through the ground and ripping into the side of the newly formed chasm. Monstrous erupted with a feral screech, launching himself into the air and flying off into space. Above them, Smasher continued his assault on Omega Supreme, raining one punishing blow after another upon the Autobot’s chest and head.
_______________________

Galvatron burst through a cloud of smoke, buried his fist in Blane’s midsection, then swung and launched him towards the battle. Blane sailed through the air and smashed directly into Menasor’s face. Menasor roared in surprise as he continued to grapple with Devastator, the gestalts locked in combat until Puzzler stomped forward and smashed into Devastator, knocking him off his feet and crashing to the ground. Menasor checked his eye, then halted when he saw Galvatron streak past, angling his descent towards Blane. The renegade wheeled around and slammed a fist into Galvatron, then grabbed his arm and hurled him into Devastator. He bounced off the gestalt’s nose in time to be caught by Blane once more, who took hold of his other arm and slammed him into Devastator’s jaw as he swatted at him. Blane dodged the swing but not Galvatron’s next blast, it exploded into him and sent him to the ground in a deep, dark hole. Smoke curled from the blackness. Galvatron hovered before Menasor, rage danced in his eyes as the Stunticon combiner regarded him with a sneer that quickly faded. Devastator grappled with Puzzler, trying to keep his footing as the titan pressed forward.
“I owe you a debt of gratitude Stunticons, you helped me realize what I’d become.” He raised his cannon towards Menasor’s face. “That being said,” his eyes flashed, “give me one good reason why I shouldn’t blow your treacherous head off your body.”
Menasor stared at Galvatron a moment, then summoned his sword. The large, flat blade glistened in the flickering lights of the battle. He looked at Galvatron, then down at the smoking hole containing Blane. He raised his sword, and brought the sharpened tip down between Puzzler’s shoulders. The Renegade combiner screamed in surprise and pain, arms stretched out to its sides, fingers curled as Menasor wrenched his blade up and cleaved through his torso. He completed the motion as Puzzler fell and separated, then looked back to Galvatron.
“That’s what I thought.” He barely had the sentence out when Blane streaked from the hole and smashed a fist into him, sending him careening through the air and crashing into the side of a newly collapsed mountain. Blane flew above him and laughed, firing a shower of energy spheres down at Galvatron. They detonated when they struck, burning a brilliant, fiery hole into the planet. Blane dropped, allowing the smoke to envelope him until he caught sight of Galvatron. The mad Decepticon slammed into him, crashed into the side of the rock, then slung Blane down towards the glowing sphere that was becoming visible within the planet. He fired his cannon and watched it disappear into the glowing chasm. A wave of liquid fire exploded upward, Blane rising with the crest. He slammed into Galvatron and the two of them spun through the air, both on fire from the planet’s now volatile energy igniting. Light began to burst forth from the various seams splitting the landscape, the ground felt alive as plates beneath the surface began to shift and rupture because of the excess damage.
Galvatron and Blane slammed into the ground together like a meteor, their exchange blasting holes that erupted along the planet’s crust. They burst through the other side, dueling comets of purple and yellow fire. They ripped through the opposite side of the planet and hurtled through space towards Gobotron, locked in mortal combat.
_______________________

“What the hell are they doing?!” Fitor clasped a hand over his audio receptors and watched another rising ball of energy roll across the distance and explode. The eruption shook the ground beneath him, he could barely keep his footing.
Crasher raced past with great difficulty as the ground beneath her tires threatened to crack and spill her into a new break in the surface.
“They’re not holding back anymore, that’s what they’re doing!” She cut her wheels and screeched to a halt, changing modes as she did so. “They’re playing for keeps,” she stumbled away from a new crack in the ground, noticing that things in the distance, far in the distance were beginning to shake and collapse, “And I say we keep ourselves alive!”
Cop-Tor hovered overhead, dropping down beside the two of them while opening a channel with Blane. “Blane, what’s the plan?”
“HAHAHA!” a loud, crackling voice blared over his communicator, “BWAHAHA!”
Cop-Tor frowned. “That’s not encouraging.”
“But it is motivating.” Crasher tapped her chest, opening communication with the rest of the Renegades. “Renegades, return to Thruster and Smasher, We, are, LEAVING!”
She saw Thruster and Smasher already lifting into the sky, she took to the air and made her way towards them.

**************
The Matrix:

Leader-1’s mind filled with a blue light, they were so close to Gobotron now, he could sense it. He saw the light subside, and standing before him once again, was the Last Engineer. He looked like a ghost, bright blue and somewhat transparent. He gazed down at Leader-1.
“The end is near Leader-1.”
“It's all coming apart...” he turned his face towards the Last Engineer, barely able to control his voice. "They’ll all be destroyed if Unicron realizes what I really have in mind!” He clasped his head in his hands, “If only things were as they as they used to be.”
“That is the problem Leader-1." The Last Engineer’s voice was sharp, a father chastising his child, “That has always been the problem! You're afraid to evolve past what you’ve been for centuries.”
Leader-1 stared at him, mouth agape. “What-what are you talking about?”
“All of your insecurities, all of your fear about being a leader, it's come from being unable to take the next step. The GoBots were never meant to simply remain as you have for so many years.”
Leader-1 looked confused, understanding eluding him. The Last Engineer continued.
“When so much disaster befell our planet because of the war, we took the initiative and grew beyond the obstacles put in our path. I led our people through the first evolution, and you,” he cast a finger at Leader-1, “YOU are leading them through the next! Unicron is a greater disaster than any war we’ve ever had!”
“But we didn't evolve!" Leader-1 cried, "We were changed by Unicron!”
“WRONG!” the Last Engineer bellowed, his eyes flashed, fury raged in his voice. “He was NOT your savior,” He clasped Leader-1’s head in his hands, “He was only the catalyst!”

**************

Omega Supreme transformed despite the pain it caused to do so. He launched, pulling away from the planet and barely managed to clear the blast radius before it blew. Large hunks of rock and fiery boulders bounced off his sides as he opened communications to Skylynx.
“Battleground-destroyed. Grimlock, captured by Renegades. ”

**************

The ground beneath Devastator’s feet began to crumble, and he backed away from a wide crack opening up, red lights flooding from the widening gash in the planet. He looked around and saw the Renegade combiner Puzzler was gone. He didn’t have time to care, he separated, the Constructicons assumed their vehicle forms and raced towards the remains of their ship.
Cyclonus tried to remain airborne amidst the debris spraying from more chasms opening up along the surface of the planet.
“We have to get out of here, Decepticons, to the ship!”
“What ship?!” Blitzwing beheld the wreckage, Starscream’s battered form slung over his shoulder. The ship was literally falling apart at the seams, large, finger-shaped indentations from Thruster warped its appearance.
“The emergency ships are still functional, all Decepticons, it’s the emergency vessels, or you’ll be flying to Gobotron under your own power!” Cyclonus headed skyward, intend on doing just that. He found the confines of a ship too cramped, especially when he could make the journey on his own. He was joined shortly by Scourge, the remaining Sweeps falling in line after him and putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the tiny planet, which was falling apart before their eyes. Cyclonus watched the ball ignite in a red glare.
“Where is Galvatron?” Scourge increased his speed, trying to outrun the rippling shockwave. I saw him fighting Blane, what happened?”
Cyclonus remembered the first time they recovered Galvatron. He had been driven insane by Unicron, and once roused, thrashed Cyclonus and the Sweeps without any effort. As soon as he agreed to lead the Decepticons, he destroyed the planet they had just been on without a second thought. The memory overlayed Cyclonus’ sight of the this world, now free floating fragments of rock and space dust. His scanners picked up a thin dual-trail of energy, arched through space.
“From the looks of things, he and Blane will reach Gobotron before we do.”
The emergency vessels whizzed by, Cyclonus saw Decepticon symbols proudly emblazed on their hulls as they made their way towards their target. Each one, though modified for fast travel, was still armed to the teeth. They would still be able to launch an effective assault when the time came.

**************
The Matrix:

The Last Engineer reached out his hand, touched Leader-1's visor and in a flash they were there at the beginning. Unicron nearing their planet, and Leader-1 could sense for the first time the Dark God's true desperation, how badly he needed to be close to their world. And then he saw it. Barely visible at first, like fine strands of gossamer webs, glowing blue lines of energy began to lift from Gobotron and seep into Unicron. Leader-1 could sense Unicron's power growing with each strand, which grew into thicker ribbons of power as he moved closer to their world.
"Bastard" Leader-1 growled, watching the first wave of destruction Unicron unleashed on their city, "He was almost barren of any power, he- he used our own planet's energy against us!"
“Is it becoming more clear to you Leader-1? Are you starting to understand what's truly happened?”
"I-" Leader-1 watched the scene change. Gobotron spanned before him, the gold ring jutting from its core, two massive horns resting atop the planet. Destroyed remains of Command Centers encircled the globe, and he could see himself, his Guardians, and the Renegades drifting helplessly before Unicron. Unicron had used their own planet's energies to tear them to shreds, and now…
And now...
"Wait..." Leader-1 watched carefully as Cy-Kill howled his acceptance of Unicron's proposal, saw the truth behind the illusion as the Renegade Commander was reformatted. Unicron's energy whipped about his form- no, that was incorrect. Leader-1 blinked, as if clearing sleep from his eyes. The green energies that jumped about Cy-Kill's broken body faded, replaced by a glowing blue aura. Unicron had made them see what he wanted them to see.
The Last Engineer's voice filled Leader-1's mind.
"Appearances, Leader-1, are everything. And Unicron knew this. Suggestion is a powerful thing. Unicron told you that he would give you new forms, new, more powerful bodies, and that’s exactly what he made you see. Tell me, what was going through your head when you said-"
"Yes." Leader-1 heard the other him croak as Blane held his battered head in his hands.
"I wanted us to become stronger, better than I was before- to give my people a fighting chance at survival."
"And that's exactly what our race needs in order to take the next step. The GoBots, Guardian and Renegade alike sensed that need and took hold of it. That is how you the evolution happens."
Leader-1 blinked, watching the change to his people as the Last Engineer continued.
“Unicron was the disaster, he was the catalyst. He gave you the need, he gave you the desire to change... and he supplied you with Gobotron's power- NOT his.
You were so ready to believe yourself inferior, so quick to succumb to your own insecurities, you gave him the control he wanted over you! He lied to ensured your obedience!"
Leader-1 saw the thinnest strand of green energy enter his body within the blue sphere that enveloped him and his guardians.
"That tiny portion of Unicron's own power, is all he needed to make sure you obeyed him. It’s his connection to you and the Renegades. But Leader-1, you've been bucking that influence since this all began. And now it's nearing its end, there's hardly any left in you.”
“But still enough to destroy us, all of us… from the inside out.”
“Your evolution has been tainted by Unicron, now is the time to remove his corruption and reclaim Gobotron!

“LEAD THEM!”

Leader-1 vanished in a flash of light, leaving the Last Engineer. He looked up and saw a large machine approaching, Alpha Trion. From the moment he arrived, they exchanged information deep within the core of the matrix. Now, more than ever, wisdom was what they needed. The power of the matrix had always been something that Unicron feared, and yet with the new powers he had gained from Gobotron and Zeemon, with the unusual biological essence he unconsciously grafted onto himself, his fear diminished-and with good cause. The matrix might not be enough on its own anymore. During Leader-1’s battle with Prime, it was Alpha Trion who sensed the Last Engineer’s presence and reached out to him. He knew their only hope for survival, their only chance for victory would come from Gobotronian wisdom combined with their own Cybertronian knowledge. Their understanding would lead to Unicron’s downfall. They would fight, and they would prevail-together.